A convenient and safe system to remove hard tissue such as bone is a long standing challenge. Although a number of approaches exist to remove bone structures including mechanical and electrosurgical devices, the approaches have various shortcomings.
Mechanical devices such as rotary shavers have been used to clean, debride and remove bone. Rotary shavers, however, can lead to excessive bleeding. In order to control bleeding in certain orthopedic procedures, a cauterizing instrument must be utilized to control bleeding of the various tissues.
Electrosurgical devices such as RF tissue-cutting instruments have been used on various hard tissue structures and deposits. However, RF electrosurgical devices have been found to be generally ineffective at removing bone under suitable surgical conditions.
A safe, effective, and convenient system for removing hard tissue is therefore desirable.